The Cherry Blossom
Japan 2025: Data File 001 Ringo finishes day and leaves the Tokyo Building Inspection Division office to find his K-Truck with $10,000 of tools was stolen in broad daylight. Ringo calls the police and request a specific officer he knows to investigate. Officer Daiche arrives, noticing Ringo is clearly more upset about the missing collection of tools Ringo spent years curating, then the truck. Officer Daiche pulls the security camera footage from the incident and gives Ringo a copy. Footage clearly shows a man quickly stealing the truck. Officer Daiche runs the face through the police database but comes up empty. Ringo is a corrupt building inspector who works for the Yakuza Inagawa-Kai (IK) Family. Ringo takes the security camera footage to Yakuza IK lawyer’s office. Yakuza IK Doorman recognizes him, greets him, and lets him in. Ringo tells Hideki, the lawyer, what happened wants to make sure “this is not the start of something”. Hideki calls John, a Yakuza IK enforcer and martial arts master, to put him on the case. John recognizes the man in the footage and identifies him as Li Wei (Leeway), the leader of the Chinese Triad’s new Green Dragon gang. John talks to Yakuza IK Boss, who wants John to ask for the truck and tools back. John drives Ringo home and explains that Li Wei with the Green Dragon Gang stole his truck as an insult to the Yakuza. John advises the truck was likely on its way to a chop shop, and Ringo can check the local pawn shops for his tool and John can pay a visit where Li Wei normally hangs out, the Cherry Blossom Club. Ringo decides to join John’s trip to the Cherry Blossom Club. The Cherry Blossom Club is one of the nicest clubs in Tokyo, very high end, filled with high rollers. Li Wei is in the middle of a corner booth surrounded by seven friends, each formidable on their own with extensive augmentations. They are high rolling with bottles of very expensive drinks. John approaches Li Wei and ask for the truck back. Li Wei unequivocally states he is “not concerned about the Yakuza families and will do whatever he wants”. John finds this answer unacceptable. John reaches across the table, knocking over drinks, grabs Li Wei, rips him out of the booth, and slams Li Wei down on a nearby table on top of bystander’s meals. John loudly proclaims: “The Green Dragons exist because my family allows it. You have 24 hours to return the truck and all its content.” Cherry Blossom Club erupts into the chaos of fleeing people, unaccustomed to such violence. Across the room at a table with a good view of the club, Asher Graves spots his mark is involved in the altercation. Ringo starts to call in backup. Li Wei friends are caught off guard and quickly try to get out of the booth. The first heavy-augmented man attacks, John dodges and pushes him into the next attacker forcing both to fall to the floor. John bolts for the exit. Meanwhile, Ringo sees what is going down and convinces the door bouncers the Green Dragons started the fight. As John slips out, the Green Dragons get held up by the bouncers for a short minute. John and Ringo make it to their car, and onto the street. As they are seemingly in the clear, John tells Ringo the Green Dragons “were unable to provide the details about your truck, so a scolding was needed.” Later John notices a car with a single man following them. Ringo knows this area well and recommends a shortcut, loosing the tail. Asher pulls over frustrated he was unable to tail them but remembers the Inagawa-Kai (IK) Yakuza family name one of them yelled out. John continues on and drops Ringo at his home. John calls his Boss and informs him, “I gave them 24 hours, but I don’t think they are going to comply.” The Boss tells everyone to lay low for a day, as the Cherry Blossom Club incident is all over the news. Ringo sits in his home, pricing out new tools online. John stays at a friend’s house. Asher, having lost the trail, goes to a movie. Ash Ashoka Abe, known professionally as ThreeAces among the less law-inclined, receives a call from Yakuza IK lawyer Hideki. Hideki knows ThreeAces is an import and export fixer for several Yakuza families and also has some new business from the Green Dragons smuggling drugs into Japan. Hideki, in his usual tone, states “The Chinese Green Dragons are new in Tokyo and they have already started something, and we need some intel on them". ThreeAces pauses. “Now, you are well aware of my policy of keeping my client’s information private. You wouldn’t want me telling others your secrets, would you?” ThreeAces quips. Hideki frustrating re-iterates his request and emphasizing how important this is to his family. ThreeAces ask a few follow up questions about the recent feud while he weighs his options, and the long-term impact of potentially losing the Green Dragon’s new lucrative drug trade or this Yakuza family’s business. “I’ll tell you what, if it is really that important and the Yakuza Boss wants to call all in his chips, he can give me a call and we can discuss terms. Obviously, a client may have to be dropped and their business would have to be made up somewhere. No guarantees, but the Yakuza Boss and I can talk in person.”, ThreeAces articulates. Hideki says he will take it to this boss. A few minutes later, ThreeAces phone rings again from the Yakuza Family Boss who wants to meet. At the law office, ThreeAces walks in and sees the Yakuza Family Boss, “So I hear you are willing to make an arrangement. These Green Dragons have insulted my family, and you know I can’t let that stand”. ThreeAces starts with some pleasantries, subtly referencing their good relationship in the past before moving onto business. ThreeAces emphasis that he understands the conflict, but that he is a business man first; “If you are willing to make up all of my lost business, it would go a long way towards a solution”. Yakuza Family Boss scoffs at the dishonorable drug trade and the Chinese trying to edge into Japan but offers to make up the business to ThreeAces other ways. “While I am not willing to betray the Japanese Families, I can be more flexible for international partners…” ThreeAces says, and continues with a scowl, “…especially the Chinese.” ThreeAces continues, “There are many opportunities overseas, but the Japanese Families are Eternal.” The meeting at the Law Office raps up with ThreeAces saying “If I were to secretly betray the Green Dragons I would have to drop them as a client citing other reasons of course. The Green Dragons have been eventful new clients, and in my line of work that means almost getting my guys caught multiple times. I’ve been looking for an excuse to drop them, and this conflict with some of the Yakuza may be the reason I’ve been looking for. We have a deal.” ThreeAces declares. Yakuza Family Boss is pleased. ThreeAces ends the meeting, “Give me an hour or two, and I’ll be back.” ThreeAces had extensive records on the Green Dragons product movements but needed more intel. He reached out to his government contacts, who knew someone in Japan’s Public Security Intelligence Agency running an active investigation on the Green Dragons. It turns out Li Wei has some bad habits. ThreeAces complies all the intelligence in his Black Book on the Green Dragons and returns to the Law Office. ThreeAces walks into Hideki office and slams the Black Book on the table, proclaiming “Here’s Everything!”, triggering a shocked look on Hideki’s face. Hideki flips through the book seeing the Green Dragons shipping dates, ports used, their contacts inside Japan and China, local movement patterns, safe houses, and where Li Wei would currently be at. ThreeAces helps Hideki go through all the intel to create a plan. Yakuza IK Boss calls lawyer Hideki; Two Arms Moving company will be sending someone to assist on this mission. Ringo, John, and ThreeAces are all at the lawyer’s office when Asher, the cybernetic repo man, arrives. Asher explains his mark is Li Wei’s two augmented arms, worth around half a million. Ringo and John only want the truck with tools back. The Black Book intel reveals Li Wei, a Chinese man, has an unusual taste for Japanese prostitutes. The Japanese-filled room is discussed, and Ringo comments he is only into widows. John knows a few high-end prostitutes and calls around finding Yako, who knows Li Wei. Yako is an augmented femme fatale who has done work for the Yakuza IK before. Yako, an attractive female, scans the room and starts to hit on ThreeAces, the most attractive male present, turning on all her charm. After some discussion, the plan is for Yako to go to Li Wei normal bar, hit on him, and use a sleep chemical, located in needles under her fingernails. John and Asher will step in and take Li Wei. The backup plan is to search for Li Wei at other locations, including the warehouse on the dock where the Green Dragon keeps their product. Yako goes to Li Wei’s normal bar, but only his friends are there. They say Li Wei is back in China, but Yako charms them into telling her Li Wie is laying low at home. They about now-famous The Cherry Blossom club incident, followed by other small talk and activities. Li Wei friends says they will pass on Yako message, and he will likely call her tomorrow. Yako later gets a call from Li Wei to come to the warehouse at the docks. Yako informs the team, and a new plan is in motion. Yako arrives at the dock warehouse alone and goes to see Li Wei. ThreeAces borrows a company vehicle from a lot where the security cameras have not worked for years, and “forgets” to sign it out. ThreeAces drives Ringo, John, and Asher to the docks. Dock Security recognizes ThreeAces and waves him through. ThreeAces can get within 100 yards from the warehouse, without suspicion, and parks. ThreeAces and Ringo remain in the truck, while John and Asher go hunting. Yako is escorted through the run-down warehouse, upstairs, and to a landing area with half a million in furniture and a fully stocked bar. Li Wei is happy to see Yako. She pours him a drink, spikes it with her imbedded fingernail needles, and gets him to drink it. Li Wei is out cold, as Yako cuddles him. Asher and John approach the warehouse. Ringo and ThreeAces notice a car with two people approaching the warehouse from a distance and alert Asher and John. John is noticed by the warehouse guard and is questioned. John says he is new guy with Dock Security. Guard asks for a badge. Asher has not been noticed yet and sneaks up within 10 feet of the guard and offers to show him a badge. Guard is startled, Asher rushes him. Asher uses his augmented arms for a choke hold. Guard drops unconscious in about two second, due to the force of the choke. Asher takes the large guard’s badge and easily carries him into the warehouse. ThreeAces alert them the car from earlier is about 60 seconds out. Inside the warehouse, Yako finds a Porsche and the keys. Asher and John arrive to see an unconscious Li Wei. They find Ringo’s truck, with the keys, downstairs close to the Porsche. Asher, Yako, and Li Wei get in the Porsche. John gets in the truck. Asher floors the Porsche, distracting the guards and the approaching car. After a chase is underway, John leaves the warehouse with the truck slowly and slips away. Asher is able to lose the tail. ThreeAces calls Yakuza IK Boss says they may be able to raid the warehouse, as long as ThreeAces gets a cut. Yakuza arrive later, and the area is swarming with Green Dragons; Yakuza decide to leave. Asher, Yako, John, Ringo and ThreeAces arrive at the safe house and secure Li Wei, who is now conscious. Asher walks over to Li Wei and removes both his augmented arms, worth about half a million, for reposition. Ringo searches his truck looking through the tools, and finds drugs. ThreeAces estimates it is about a quarter of a million of drugs. John and the Yakuza do not want the drugs in Japan and want them destroyed. ThreeAces offers to move the drugs out of country and give everyone a cut. ThreeAces stresses there is a lot of overhead in this type of operation, shipping costs, customs bribes, so the return may not be great. John knows the Yakuza will not like him accepting drug money, but the party agrees. “Li Wei is a loose end that needs to be dealt with.” The party discusses what to do with Li Wei but is hesitant to kill him. After a while, ThreeAces points to John and tells him it is his job to take care of. John decides to call the Yakuza Boss, who wants Li Wei alive for several months for integration. Yakuza Boss sends someone to pick Li Wei up. “Hope you don’t need him to write anything down.” Ringo is ecstatic his truck and tools were returned. John is glad everything went down well. ThreeAces likes expanding his contact list. Yako likes the adventures, and Asher completed his limb repo job. “You know, the Green Dragons may think this is all related to the Limb Repo, instead of the Yakuza”. All content on this page is copyright 2019 D. H. Howard and published with permission. All rights reserved. Not subject to CC-BY-SA license.